Matthew 2:1-2, 9

“”In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”

…When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.

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THE SUN is a star. It’s a small star. Many stars we see in the sky are many times larger than the sun. They are just so far away. Other stars are roughly of equal size with the sun, some are smaller.

In much the same way, some stars are much brighter than the sun, emitting far more dazzling light, while others are dimmer.

The light from the sun takes 8 minutes to get to the earth. Light is the fastest known traveller. It travels 300 million metres every second. All lights have this speed.

Traveling at this speed, light from the sun covers a distance of 150 million km in 8 minutes.

NASA’s spacecraft embarked on a journey to Pluto in 2006, traveling at 60,000km/hr; it took it 9 years to arrive there in 2015. If it was journeying to the sun, it would have taken it 78,000 years!

Think about that.

Your sports car at 200 km/hr that will go from Lagos to Ibadan in 40 minutes, if there is no traffic hold-up; but if it were to get to the sun, that will be some 24 million years!

Light does the distance in 8 minutes.

THIS MEANS THAT light leaving the sun at this moment, would reach you in 8 minutes. And the light hitting your eye now, left the sun 8 minutes ago. THIS MEANS THAT: NO ONE SEES THE SUN AS IT IS, EVERYONE SEES IT AS IT WAS 8 MINUTES AGO. I read this in a geology or an astronomy text in my secondary school library. It was quite fascinating.

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Going a little farther- after the sun, the star nearest the earth, is the PROXIMA CENTAURI. This star is 4 light years away from the earth. This means that just as light from the sun takes 8 minutes to get here, light from the Centauri takes 4 years to get here.

That’s an astounding 40 trillion kilometres, but only 4 light years. If you see the Centauri tonight, the image reaching you was produced 4 years ago in 2013, and is just arriving today, at the speed of light. You are seeing it as it was in 2013

SIRIUS is twice as large and as bright as the sun. It’s almost 9 light years away. Putting kilometres and sport cars aside, if you see the Sirius tonight, we’d be seeing an image 9 years old.

When therefore you see the Centauri, the Sirius, and the Epison Indi (12 light years) in the night sky, one image is from 2013, one from 2008, and the third from 2005.

There are 45 stars within 17 light years of the earth, bringing us images from the past 17 years. What is more?

We have at least 200 billion stars in our galaxy, several tens to hundreds of light years away, many of which are visible from the earth with the unaided eye, on a clear starlit night sky.

The Deneb for instance is one of the farthest stars in our galaxy that can be seen with the unaided eye. It is said to 200 times larger, 200,000 times brighter than our sun, and about 1400 light years away.

If you see the Deneb tonight, you’re looking 1400 years into the past at an image from the 7th Century! Stars in the sky are a time map.

The light from those stars reaching your eyes are coming from very different distances and from very different times. You are seeing images from different generations and different eras.

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NOW, IN GENESIS 22:17, WHEN GOD preached the gospel to Abraham, when he showed him the stars and said to him ‘so shall your seed be!’; God was showing him his descendants shining from different times.

The sky was like a mirror. Whereas normally, it shows time spreading back over days and years and centuries; God was showing the man stars in a time sequence spread forward over centuries.

He said ‘Abraham look, that star 45 years from now is Jacob, and that star 430 years from now- is Moses, rising from the backside of the desert to Mount Horeb; look, that one 600 years from now is Debbie, arising a mother in Israel…and that over there is David rising 700 years from the head of Goliath to the throne of Israel.

That is Daniel, that’s James, Martha, Paul, Apollos, Lydia, John, Augustine, Luther, Wesley, Ajayi Crowther, Parham, Elton, Cho,… He showed Abraham all these stars shining in their generations.

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THEN GOD SHOWED Abraham the Source of the light. He showed Him the true Light, that gave light to other stars. (John 1:9)

He showed Him the Daystar. This Star is different from other stars (1 Corinthians 15:41) Every star shining in the sky, is shining because of the Daystar. They emit some light, but He will bring the morning. He will bring the Day.

John 8:56
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.“

LITTLE WONDER the wise men saw a star in the sky when Christ was born which led them to him (Matt 2:2,9). They were not the first to see it though. Balaam saw it hundreds of years before that time (Num 24:17). It had always been in the sky. And God showed it to Abraham that night too.

Galatians 3:16
Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.
Galatians 3:29
And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

God said to Abraham – He is the CHRIST, whose goings have been from everlasting, arising from Bethlehem Ephrathah, of Judah (Micah 5:2), lifted onto the Cross, whose circuit extends to the lower parts of the earth, and the third day shall rise, and afterwards you ascend Lord of all. This is the Star that gives all others light and causes them to rise.

THAT STAR entered into earth’s orbit 2000 years ago, terrified and defeated the rule and dominion of Night, and birthed the kingdom of Light in the realms of men. He is coming again with the fullness of Day, to forever destroy the Night.

This is the essence of Christmas.

So many have lived for and served God, with the beautiful hope of heaven, whose names are not in our history books- unnamed and unsung. Nevertheless, because of Christ, God knows their names, and their lives shine before Him with great brightness.

2 Corinthians 4:6

“for God who commanded THE LIGHT to shine out of darkness has shone in our hearts the light of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus. Psalm 147:4 says ‘He telleth the number of the stars; HE CALLETH THEM ALL, BY THEIR NAMES. Their names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”

When He showed Abraham that night- if you are Christ’s- Your star was also there. Your light has come, and the glory of God is risen up on you.

His name is Jesus, Christ; the Son of the living God.

Arise.

SHINE!

Merry Christmas.